


Day 29b: The Love God

by PineTrain



Series: 40 Days of Pinecest [30]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-06
Updated: 2017-04-06
Packaged: 2018-10-15 20:27:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10557218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PineTrain/pseuds/PineTrain





	

And here’s the second part of the double feature. @twistedvirgorivaliant sent me a prompt after I’d already finished my original idea. The song is “The Light” by Disturbed. I’m garbage with song lyrics in any facet but I’ve worked hard to do my best.

* * *

Love God licked his lips as he received the heavily laden hot dog from the vendor. Oh man did he love Woodstick. Best food, best music. Especially his own, in both categories now that he had a food truck, LG’s Lovin’ Gourmet. Not so popular yet, but he’d just started it so it needed time to grow. He handed out cards for it with every mix tape. The only reason he was buying from another vendor was because he could eat his own stuff every day.

He relished the taste of relish amongst the various other flavors mixing in his first bite and was slightly annoyed when a tug at his shirt distracted him. Turning, he saw a boy he faintly recognized. Dipper, right? Love God didn’t interact with Mabel’s brother much when he visited Gravity Falls, more interested in using his free time to mentor her in matchmaking.

“Hey man, how’s it going? Want a mix tape?” Love God said, about to ruin his pants with a stain before Dipper stopped him.

“Uh! No! Well, I mean, that’s not why I’m here. I’m sure it’s great!” Love God frowned a little but another bite cheered him up as he listened, “See, there’s this, uh, girl that I like and, um, I…”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Dude, I don’t do that,” Love God said through a mouth full of food.

“No, no! I didn’t mean to like, make her love me. I meant more…to help me confess? See, it’s gonna be kind of embarrassing and I wouldn’t mind a bit of help…”

“Liquid courage? Don’t you have friends for that?” Love God asked.

“No! I meant something more natural.”

“Dude, I don’t deal in the green stuff.”

Dipper slapped his face, “I wanted to ask if you could, like, spritz me a little with one of your potions so it’d be easier to do it.”

Love God thought a moment as he swallowed his food. He set a condiment covered hand on Dipper’s shoulder, “Look man, if you really wanna confess, then you confess. I could give you something to help but it’s not gonna make a difference in how she answers. And if she says yes, then a few years down the line you’re gonna regret that you had to have help doing it.”

He watched Dipper’s face shift as the boy mulled over what he’d said. At first dismayed, he looked to one side, then tilted his head to the other with a frown, before finally smiling a little weakly and looking back to Love God.

“You’re right, I guess I just have to do it. But, um, could you do me a favor anyways? No potions or anything.”

“Sure man.”

“You can get to the front right? Since everyone loves you,” Love God beamed a bit, “Could, uh, you just watch, errrrr, a girl…in the front row. She’ll be the one I’m looking at,” Dipper rubbed his arm, ”I just want to know how she reacts during the song. Y’know, whether or not she accepts it, it’d just be nice to know from an outside perspective.”

Love God nodded and quirked an eyebrow as Dipper turned and left. A song confession, eh? No wonder he’d been so nervous. Even if the rest of the crowd didn’t know the full context, he would still be doing it in front of all of them. Pretty romantic, though personally he preferred brighter colors than black for such an event.

———————

Dipper sat in a cheap folding chair backstage as he waited for the current band to finish their set. This was the last one before he had to go out and sing for Robbie’s band. He felt extremely jittery from all the nervousness piled up inside him but he needed to calm himself down if he was going to pull this off.

Singing in front of a live audience for the first time in years (or, when he thought about it, for the first time ever since that previous incident involved zombies) was not going to be an easy task for him. And Robbie’s band played music that wasn’t normally to his tastes by a long shot, but that was the only connection he had to getting on stage. He’d called in every favor he had with the older boy to get the lead singer position, though he had to pile on a ton of assurances that he’d learn all the songs they were going to play. As long as he could sing the one song he wanted to, he’d jump through any hoop.

He wasn’t a songwriter of course, so it’d be a cover even though the rest of the songs were originals by Robbie. He didn’t really listen to this kind of stuff either, but he couldn’t exactly bust out with some pop song as the finale to the band’s set. So he searched and searched and found one that fit what he wanted to say without compromising the band’s style.

This had all taken so much work, so much planning. He had really reached the end of his rope though. Whether she answered yes or no didn’t matter for now, he just had to get it out there and he was going to do it in the most over-the-top way he could because that’s how he felt about her. Love God was right, he had to do it from his true heart, however hard it might be.

The other band finished and after some time the MC announced “Robbie V. and the Tombstones!” As Dipper went out with the others he wondered if Robbie would ever change that name before shaking his head to focus on the task at hand.

Hoooo boy, that was a lot of people in front of him. He could already feel the sweat beading on his skin under the burning gaze of a thousand people. He was definitely not the lead singer type, but it was too late to turn back now. Scanning the front of the crowd, he was dismayed that he couldn’t find her.

He looked back and forth to find Love God munching on a hotdog, though it didn’t look like the one he had earlier. The cupid merely cocked his head when their eyes met. Damn it, he should’ve just told Love God he was looking for Mabel instead of being coy. Maybe then he’d have another set of eyes to find her.

Dipper was shocked out of his frustration as Robbie pumped up the crowd from his mic. They had a few songs before they would reach Dipper’s. He wasn’t going to just throw Robbie under the bus from his own dismay so it was time to do his best and hope she’d turn up soon.

As he passed through the songs, Dipper wondered if his tailspinning heart added anything to his vocals. He was certainly starting to feel all the emotions Robbie had written into them when every time he looked through the crowd he didn’t see her. But then, just as the penultimate song finished, he finally found her about five people back from the stage.

What a terrible goth she was. Colorful tattoos along her arms and glitter flickering in her hair. A smile too bright for the counter-culture she skipped through on her way to adulthood. Her hands on her cheeks in excitement, Dipper could tell she was losing her mind over how he was actually on stage and lead singing.

His confidence returned a hundredfold seeing that smile. This was his chance, his moment. He would do anything to see that kind of joy in her and now was the time to make it clear to her that he did. He went into practiced autopilot as he caught her eyes with his just when the drums kicked in.

**_Like an unsung melody_ **

**_The truth is waiting there for you to find it_ **

**_It’s not a blight, but a remedy,_ **

**_A clear reminder of how it began_ **

Mabel was cheering, but Dipper knew there was no way she had caught on yet.

**_Deep inside your memory_ **

**_Turned away as you struggled to find it_ **

**_You heard the call as you walked away_ **

**_A voice of calm from within the silence_ **

He saw a quirk in her expression. She was still smiling but she seemed a little confused.

**_And for what seemed an eternity_ **

**_You wait and hoping it would call out again_ **

**_You heard the shadow beckoning_ **

**_Then your fears seemed to keep you blinded_ **

**_You held your guard as you walked away._ **

Dipper’s eyes had never left hers, but Mabel’s searched around aimlessly. They soon returned to his, but her cheering was becoming less enthusiastic.

**_When you think all is forsaken,_ **

**_Listen to me now_ **

**_You need never feel broken again_ **

**_Sometimes darkness can show you the light_ **

She wasn’t even cheering now, but her eyes no longer wandered. She simply stared back, bumped occasionally by the other crowd members.

**_An unforgivable tragedy_ **

**_The answer isn’t where you think you’d find it_ **

**_Prepare yourself for the reckoning_ **

**_For when your world seems to crumble again_ **

**_Don’t be afraid, don’t turn away_ **

**_You’re the one who can redefine it_ **

**_Don’t let hope become a memory_ **

**_Let the shadow permeate your mind and_ **

**_Reveal the thoughts that were tucked away_ **

**_So that the door can be opened again_ **

**_Within your darkest memories_ **

**_Lies the answer if you dare to find it_ **

**_Don’t let hope becoming a memory_ **

Dipper could tell Mabel understood by how her cheeks turned red as she quietly stood, their eyes matched the rest of the song. After it finished, the band took a quick bow before being hurried off by the MC so he could bring on the next group.

Well, he’d done it. Honestly, once he thought about it, he didn’t even know if he was singing the song to her or himself. Perhaps both at once. He remembered all the times he’d grappled with his own feelings, all the times he saw a glint in her eyes that made him wonder if she grappled with hers.

Was he just confessing his forbidden feelings by telling himself he needed to? Was he telling her he thought she had the same feelings and that he was okay about them? The more he thought about it after the fact, the more he wasn’t even sure what he’d been going for.  Any which way, it was out there, and he knew she knew how he felt. There were no failsafes to stop this emotional missile.

Dipper felt panic growing in him. There was a deep core of comforting relief at the weight removed by the reveal of this painful secret, but for now he had to deal with the fact that he’d just obliquely told his sister he loved her and he had no idea what was about to happen.

Dipper sighed. It was like a lemon drop, sour at first, but hopefully sweet at the end. Mabel would love that metaphor. His thoughts paused a moment as he facepalmed. Was it going to be like this for the next few hours? Just thinking of how much he loved her and then remembering that she could completely reject him the next time they met?

“Hey, yo, hey Dipper!” a voice called from the curtains nearby. Dipper looked and saw it was Love God, gesturing for him to come over.

“So I watched for you, yeah? Mabel, huh?” Love God smirked with a raised eyebrow.

“…well…yes…” Dipper said dejectedly. He trusted Love God to be silent on love matters, but did it even matter that Dipper had asked him to watch?

“Ha! Not a surprise to be honest,” Dipper frowned as Love God continued, “She looked a little unsure after all that so I escorted her here.”

“W-what!?”

“Yeah, she’s over there,” Love God pointed to a distant part of the backstage, a weird pink haze slightly visible along a wall of curtains. “Little bit of cupid magic, you can only see or enter the space if I tell you it’s there. Good for private events. No time like the present, dude!” Love God shoved Dipper towards the barrier.

Dipper regained his balance from the shove, but still found it within himself to stumble through the curtain once he reached it. Mabel was standing a few feet inside, holding herself with her arms about her waist and looking down, clearly deep in thought. She didn’t move as he stabilized himself in front of her.

A minute of silence passed before she spoke, “Love God brought me here. Did you ask him to?”

Dipper felt ice grip his heart. Did she think he’d asked Love God for help in this? Well, he did, but not in the way she might be thinking.

“I didn’t ask him to use potion on you!” Dipper exclaimed in panic.

“But you asked him to do something?” Mabel always did have good intuition.

“Just…to help me on stage, to give me a boost because it was hard…” Dipper was really regretting it all, but he didn’t want to lie or hide anything now, “He told me to do it by myself, so I did. I just wanted him to watch you. I don’t even really know why, since I was watching you the whole time. I guess, I just wanted to be sure I read you right…”

Mabel took a step towards him, but Dipper found it hard to meet her eyes, “So, it’s been hard for you too?” she asked.

Dipper’s heart stopped. “Yes, very…” The words were automatic, like a reflex almost. The tone of her voice when she asked her question told an entire painful story in an instant. One that matched his own. It was hardly believable until she wrapped her arms around him and looked into his eyes with a face he’d only ever seen in his dreams. He really had been singing for both of them. 

* * *


End file.
